ISS, BearingPoint Win Supply Chain Defense Contracts

In a pair of multimillion dollar deals, the two contractors and their partners will provide different sorts of supply chain services to the US Army and Air Force.

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded two separate multimillion dollar contracts over the past week to government contractors ISS (Information Systems Support, Inc.) and BearingPoint Inc. to head up multivendor military supply chain initiatives.
After pilot testing Enigmas 3C vehicle maintenance and repair platform last year, the U.S. Army has now contracted ISS to make the solution field-ready for the Armored Combat Vehicle Striker Brigades.

Under the other deal, worth up to $21 million, the U.S. AFMC (Air Force Military Command) has hired BearingPoint to lead an initiative dubbed PSCM (Purchasing and Supply Chain Management) Immersion Training.

Enigma is serving as subcontractor on the Army contract, which is aimed at preparing Enigmas Web-based software for deployment as part of the Armys TLDD (Tactical Logistics Data Digitization (TLDD) Project.
The deal also gives the Army an option through ISS to implement 3C throughout its fleet of Stryker Brigades vehicles, which include the HEMTT, FMTV and HMMWV, said John Snow, Enigmas vice president of marketing and business development.
UPS credits supply chain services for growth. Click here to read more.
In a pilot last fall, Enigma demod use of Enigma as a way of allowing soldiers to perform in-the-field diagnostics, testing and maintenance on the Armys eight-wheeled, armored Stryker vehicles, in hopes of reducing the need for visits to the logistics depot and cutting down on the numbers of misordered parts.
"But we demonstrated [in the pilot] only a refined subset of 3Cs capabilities. Under the contract, well be doing a full system [for linking] the weaponry to logistics and supply chain management," said Snow.
By the end of this year, he said, soldiers in the field will have access to all the electronic data needed for diagnosis and repair, including more than 50 manuals containing information and instruction about parts, service history, automated maintenance and troubleshooting.
The Air Forces new PSCM Immersion Training Project, on the other hand, is part of a long-term effort by the AFCM to modernize its PSCM program, according to Steve Lunceford, a BearingPoint spokesperson.
The AFCM is in charge of supporting Air Force combat operations in areas that include SCM, transportation, logistics, aircraft and maintenance.
BearingPoint has provided classroom instruction to the AFCM before, Lunceford said.
Under the deal announced this week, BearingPoint and its partners will provide logistics education, instruction and strategic services.
The contract is worth almost $6 million in the base year, and as much as $21 million over four years if the Air Force exercises all options, according to Lunceford.
Subcontractors in the AFCM deal include MERC (Mercer Engineering Research Center) Raytheon Professional Services, V8 Logistics, The Shenton Group and Weber State University.
Outside of the Defense Department, Enigmas customer list also includes dozens of private enterprises in the automotive and aeronautics industries.
Some users customize 3C applications on their own, whereas others draw on assistance from either Enigma or outside consulting firms, said Snow.
Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news and analysis of enterprise supply chains.